Page:The Dramas of Aeschylus (Swanwick).djvu/243

Ye who of bloodshed judge this primal cause.
And for the host of Ægeus shall abide
This court of jurors, sacred evermore.
The Hall of Ares this, of Amazons
The seat and camping ground, what time of old,
In hate of Theseus, waging war they came,
And 'gainst this city, newly fortified,
A counter-fortress for themselves upreared.
To Ares they did sacrifice, and hence
This rock is titled Areopagus.
Here then shall sacred Awe, and Fear, her kin, 660
By day and night my lieges hold from wrong,
Save if themselves do innovate my laws.
With influx base or mud, if thou defile
The sparkling water, thou no drink shalt find.
Nor Anarchy, nor Tyrant's lawless rule
Commend I to my people's reverence;—
Nor let them from their city banish Fear
For who 'mong men, uncurbed by fear, is just?
Thus holding Awe in seemly reverence, 670
A bulwark for your state shall ye possess,
A safeguard to protect your city-walls,
Such as no mortals other-where can boast,
Neither in Scythia, nor in Pelops' realm.
Behold! This court august, untouched by bribes,
Sharp to avenge, wakeful for those who sleep,
Establish I, a bulwark to this land.
This charge, extending to all future time,
I give my lieges. Meet it is ye rise,
Assume the pebbles, and decide the cause,
Your oath revering. All hath now been said. 680